17/12/2001
by Andrew Moore

Sotheby’s, Milan were first off the block in the Christmas season for Old Masters on the 4^th of December when the auction house offered a 212 lot sale. Top sales of the evening (and there weren’t many with only 41% of lots selling) included A Venetian scene with figures by a bridge, an oil on canvas measuring 48.5 x 61.5 cm by Pietro Longhi (more popularly known for his masked commedia dell’arte scenes) which hammered for $ 56,000 (€ 62,100) against an estimate of $ 69,870-93,190 (€ 77,470-103,330). Two works were strongly pushed by the auction house in the catalogue but failed to inspire any frantic buying, though they were both bagged by Letizia Treves one of the Sotheby’s specialists of Old Masters in London who had flown over for the sale. Alessandro Magnasco’s (1667-1749) pair of penitent monks just only got away for $ 70,050 (€ 77,560) against an estimate of $ 55,900-69,870 (€ 61,980-77,470) while Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione’s (1611-1663) Animals entering the Arch (oil on canvas, 96.2 x 133.5 cm) sold at very modest levels at $ 84,060 (€ 93,140) against an estimate of $ 114,135-171,650 (€ 103,000-154,940) perhaps due to its thin state of condition and faded colours. More uplifting for the auction house was Madonna and Child by Francesco Trevisani (1656-1746) which hammered for $ 25,680 (€ 28,440) against an estimate of $ 9,330-14,000 (€ 10,330-15,500).

Neumeister’s sale of Old Masters was held in Munich the next day in a general auction of carpets, ceramics, clocks, drawings, furniture, jewellery, porcelain, sculpture and silverware. The Old Master paintings only consisted of 69 lots with 40% selling, mostly at low-medium levels of $ 1,500-10,000 (€ 1,670-11,180). Of particular note were two lots. The Flight into Egypt by Jan de Brueghel (1601-1678) in collaboration with Hendrick van Balen (1675-1632) sold for $ 82,330 (€ 92,030) against a top-end estimate of $ 22,870 (€ 25,560), while shortly later in the sale, Jan van Goyen’s (1595-1656) Fishingboat and sloop in a river, with a windmill in the distance (oil on wood 28.5 x 35.5 cm) went for $ 10,000 (€ 11,250) against an estimate of $ 3,000 (€ 3,350). The word going around the salerooms of late was that buyers on the continent would be getting rid of their Lire and Deutsche Marks before the currency changeover to Euros. If these flat results are anything to go by, such a theory was way off the mark!

The following week in London, the auction house Bonhams held its two sales in Old Master paintings. First up was their auction on the 11^th of December at their new prestige site at New Bond Street (and Phillips, de Pury and Luxembourg’s ex-premises). The auction made a sold total of 52% with the star lots of the day not selling: the cover lot, Gregorio de’ Ferrari’s (1647-1726) The apotheosis of Hercules which at a price tag of $ 280,000-420,000 (€ 320,000-480,000) was a big loss, as were the other last three lots of the sale which all failed to sell with (or despite of) estimates ranging from $ 70,000-210,000 (€ 80,000-240,000). The few successes in the sale were at more modest prices, with five lots making substantial gains, the best being A Bacchanalian Feast simply catalogued as "Venetian school, 18^th century". Measuring 135 x 160 cm this lumbering work, with bloated figuration surprisingly sold for a hammer price of $ 46,470 (€ 51,450) against a pre-sale guide of $ 11,200-16,800 (€ 12,800-19,200).

The second London Bonhams sale was held the following day at their Knightsbridge premises and saw a sale total with 50% of the lots selling. A big disappointment, bearing in mind its unmistakable high quality was the star lot of the sale, a splendid capriccio view of a Chinese pagoda by the much in favour Antonio Joli (1700-1777) went unsold against an estimate of $ 169,200-253,800 (€ 187,310-281,000). The highest selling lots were again at low-medium levels with the top seller of the day being a bozzetto (or oil sketch) showing Musicians in a classical colonnade by Giovanni Antonio Pellegrini (1675-1741) which sold for $ 58,100 (€ 64,330) nearly four times its estimate. Other high hitters included a highly finished Still life of apples and pears on a silver dish attributed to the circle of Louise Moillon (1609-1696). Punters weren’t put off its fragmentary state and anonymous authorship with the successful bidder offering $ 49,390 (€ 54,700) against an estimate of $ 4,360-7,260 (€ 4,830-8,000).